Archive for July, 2008

Your Cal Jobs Quest

July 28, 2008 at 7:53 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , ,

So you finally got sick of grey skies 7 months a year and decided to move to California, or Cal, as some of us locals call it.  Good for you! I did the same thing 4 years ago. It’s great out here in California.  From many places, the beach and the mountains are both an hour away, the weather is great year-round (except for the June gloom, when its overcast every day except for 11 AM to 2 PM)- and it’s just generally a very nice place to live, in my experience. However, there are some specific things about the California job market that you’ll need to know if you want to transition successfully and get your Cal jobs career off on the right foot.

Leading off is one of everyone’s favorite topic- payroll taxes! In California, employers are only allowed to deduct the taxes required by law. They cannot charge you for having your picture taken or for uniforms; they cannot deduct your gratuities, business expenses, or the costs of any required medical examinations. “Breakage” is also a cost that the employer must absorb and may not be deducted from your paycheck.

Now, let’s talk holidays. This may surprise you, but there is no provision in the law that says an employer has to pay extra for you to work on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a Federal holiday, so bear that in mind when you interview- ask your potential employers what their paid Holiday policy is (or isn’t).

Minimum wage in California is higher than you may be accustomed to in your current location- $8 an hour! There are some special provisions for sheepherders, but they probably won’t apply since 99.9% of people that read this that aren’t sheepherders, so we’ll gloss over those. California law says that in cases where state and federal law conflict regarding minimum wage, the case is decided in favor of the employee- meaning that $8 an hour is the true minimum wage for any job in California. This includes tipped employees- if you are used to making $2.31 an hour to wait tables, Cal jobs in restaurants may be a big step up.

California also has some pretty specific rules about pay. Employees have to be paid by the 26th of the month for all days worked between the 1st and 16th of that month, and by the 10th day of the next month for hours worked from the 16th through month end. Also, all wages due to the employee must be paid to the employee on their last day of work, provided that the employee gives 72 hours of notice.

California is an “at-will employment” state, as well; this means that employees are free to quit their jobs without cause and that employers are free to terminate their employees without cause. However, laws regarding discrimination still apply- you can’t be let go on a discriminatory criteria as defined by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). These include: employment discrimination based on race or color; religion; national origin or ancestry, physical disability; mental disability or medical condition; marital status; sex or sexual orientation; age, with respect to persons over the age of 40; and pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
Keep these things in mind when starting your Cal jobs search and you will be able to anticipate how it may be different than what you’re used to.

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Your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)

July 18, 2008 at 9:35 pm · Filed under Truck Driving Jobs ·Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Now that we’ve discussed some of the more general aspects of truck driving jobs, let’s get a little more specific. Today, we are going to discuss the one piece of documentation any truck driver needs to have- the Commercial Driver’s License, hereafter referred to as the CDL.

You must have a CDL to operate any vehicle with a weight of 26,000 or more pounds, and it’s also required to operate a tow truck or a bus. A tractor-trailer requires more expertise to drive than a regular passenger car, which is why the Federal government mandates a special license- namely, the CDL- for large, heavy vehicles. Up until 1986, drivers could get a separate license from every state, allowing them to cover up poor driving records and accidents, which is why the Department of Transportation (DOT) passed the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986, which standardized minimum requirements for obtaining a CDL and mandated both a written and road test.

You do not have to attend a school to take the test, you simply need to demonstrate competency on the road and pass the written test with 80% of the questions correctly. Employers, training facilities, States, governmental departments, and private institutions can administer knowledge and driving test for the State. The test must be the same as those given by the State issuing the CDL and the instructors must meet the same professional certification as State instructors.

A CDL allows an 18-21 year old to operate a commercial vehicle within their own state only. Once a driver turns 21, the license automatically converts to a national license that lets them transport cargo across state lines. New York and New Jersey also have additional laws related to the CDL which apply to limousines and school buses.

There are also several additional endorsements a driver may earn for their CDL:

T- Double or Triple Semi Trailer- Written Test

P- Passenger Vehicle – Written and Driving Tests

S- School Bus- Written Test, Driving Test, Background Check, Sex Offender Registry Check and “P” endorsement

N- Tanker Truck- Written Test

H- Hazardous Materials- Written Test, Background check through the TSA

X- Combination Tank/Hazardous Materials- Written Test

Operating a commercial vehicle without a CDL is a civil penalty of up to $2,500, in more extreme cases; a criminal charge may be levied with a penalty of up to $5,000 and 90 days in jail. An employer may be fined up to $10,000 if they willingly and/or knowingly allow a driver to operate one of their vehicles without having obtained their CDL. You may lose your CDL if you commit two or more serious traffic violations (90-day to 5-year suspension) or one serious traffic violation (one year suspension). You may also lose your CDL if you are found to be driving under the influence of an illicit substance or are convicted of using a CMV to commit a felony (3 year suspension).

To get your CDL, the best course of action is to attend an accredited CDL training program through a truck driving school, where you will learn how to read a map, how to plan your trips, and how to comply with DOT law, as well as the mechanics of driving the truck like backing up, turning, hooking up a trailer, and driving on the road.

Here are some tips on choosing a CDL training program:

Shop around- there can be massive variations in price and quality of instruction from school to school

Community college and vocational/technical schools are almost always accredited, and provide an excellent value

Most trucking companies won’t hire you if your CDL training was completed in a week or two- try to find an eight-week school.

“FREE TRAINING” is not always free- some companies require you to work for them for a year in exchange for “free” training.

You will need a physical exam and your driving record will be checked by any trucking company you apply with. Don’t pay for training that you won’t be able to use.

Most companies will disqualify you if you have been convicted of certain felonies. Again, don’t pay for training that you won’t be able to use.

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